A new project - maybe

 Re the new project - it's a thought that might - or might not - come to pass.  Our #1 son likes weird socks and they're the talk of where he works.  His staff always wants to see what he's wearing (some of you might remember the watermelon socks I made him for last Christmas).  Well, the subject of Mom knitting Spiderman socks for one of his co-workers came up and I promptly shot the idea down because I doubt he would want to pay what they're worth.  That doesn't stop me, however, from trying to make some for our son - just to see if I can.  There are patterns for kids versions but his size 13's are a tad large for that.  So...I might have come up with my own pattern using a cross stitch design for the Spiderman.  Will it work?  Time will tell.  In the meantime, the yarn has arrived.. 

 I don't know if you troll Pinterest as much as I do, but that's where many of the links I find to share with you come from.  It seems that more and more of what I see on there is quite obviously AI and if it's not that the links take you either nowhere or to a commercial site...or to YouTube or to Instagram.  I have nothing against those but I don't make a habit of using them so I don't tend to overly share those sorts of places.  All this to say, it's getting harder to come up with four or five links three times a week and sometimes I might not have as many to share as I usually do.  There's only so many hours in the day to keep searching.   I really wish Pinterest would go back to the way it was in the beginning when it was primarily crafters and artists sharing in an easy format.  

- THIS is a nice idea if you have access to wooden spindles.

- I enjoyed reading THIS article.

- THIS is a nice shawl pattern.

- There are some different ideas HERE for using denim scraps.

Today's quote..."Without freedom of speech, we wouldn't know who the idiots are"

Escapee

 I dunno about you but I have a problem.  The age-old issue.  That in which you are stitching merrily away with a sharp object in your hand and suddenly your hand does something weird and the said sharp object goes walkabout.  I KNOW that blasted needle is somewhere in my sewing room but the question is, where.  I even went so far as to get out my powerful needle-finder (ie. heavy duty magnet glued onto the end of a broomstick...yes, I'm high-tech that way).  Needle is nowhere to be found.  I can guarantee you though, said needle is lying in wait to embed itself into my bare foot - or - worse - my arse.  

Diabolical little bugger!

- Have a peek through the creations of THIS artist!

- And THIS one too!  I love her birch trees.

- Those of you who are weavers might find THIS project a fun challenge.

Today, how about this instead of a quote...

Another glimpse

I'm currently working on adding the embroidery aspect of the landscape and this is an in-progress photo.  It will change somewhat yet but you can get the general idea I think.

- THIS is so cute (and another thing that would make a perfect gift if coupled with a nice mug)

- THIS caught my eye - might have to test it out!

- I know THIS is a commercial pattern, but it made me laugh so I had to let you enjoy it too.

- What to do with empty thread spools?  How about making some of THESE?  They'd be fun to give to your sewing friends.

- Nann sent me THIS and I had to share!  Hard to believe they're done with thread!

Today's quote...

another addition

 I took artistic 'freedom' with the original photo and decided I wanted to add a wooden fence.  Good idea but I forgot to remember (hah) that stitching all those little wooden boards takes a LONG time (almost two days to be exact!).  I did a little bit of trapunto (and paint) to create the clouds.  And...you will notice there's another 'Him and Me' been added.  Next up on my dance card is to add some embroidery - just because I can.

- I know I sent you to a tutorial for these before, but THESE are a bit different and so pretty!  They'd make lovely gifts I think.

- Have a scroll through the creations of THIS artist!

- My goodness - I thought sometimes I put a lot of stitches into my landscapes, but seeing THESE made me realize my efforts are paltry in comparison!

- THIS is a rather unusual design - and good for using up scraps.

Today's quote is from C.S. Lewis..."Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less"

Another section

 I've finished stitching the 'boards' on the old house but have yet to add any of the other details...

- Some of THESE made me laugh.

- I know mint tends to run rampant in the garden, so if you have some, perhaps making some of THIS would be a good use for it.  Would make great gifts too!  There are more ideas HERE.

- And if you have lavender in your garden, perhaps you'd like to try one of THESE ideas (I, however, will be steering clear b'cause my allergies run rampant when I get near it).

Today's quote..."Actions prove who someone is, words just prove who they pretend to be"

Progress, perhaps unseen?

 I spent most of Friday and Saturday quilting the latest landscape and I'm still not done.  Of course spending an inordinate amount of time wrestling with some thread that my machine simply didn't like factored into my time frame.  There's still one section of the fields to do, as well as the sky.  Then it's time to add the details!

- THIS takes you to a link to download a tutorial for making really nice potholders.

- There's a fun project HERE that you might like to try.

- THIS is awww-worthy because I love dragons (hopefully it's not an AI-generated pattern...so hard to tell these days).

- It seems if you're a knitter there's always something new to learn and THIS might be helpful.

Today's quote..."Don't do something permanently stupid just because you're temporarily upset"

The base

 The base is put together for the landscape as you can see...

Now to start adding some of the details!

- There's a good article HERE regarding choosing colours for a project.

- Have a peek through the amazing creations of THIS artist!

- THIS takes you to a printable paper pieced rose pattern.

- It's the time of year when you might like to try doing THIS.

Today's quote..."Sometimes when one door closes, you need to nail a board over it"

Another beginning

 Of course you knew it wouldn't be long before I started on another landscape although why I do is rather silly in the grand scheme of things.  They are simply piling up and I sometimes wonder what our kids will do with them when I'm no longer here.  Oh well, it's going to be their problem!  In the meantime I love making them so see no reason to quit now.  The photo I'm using for inspiration is this one...

Photo by Dale Stewart and used with his always kind permission
Near Golden Prairie, Saskatchewan

I have a thought for how to include the 'Him and Me' old couple in the scene.  Will it work?  Time will tell!!

btw - if you're interested in the pieces I have available for sale, feel free to check the 'Landscapes For Sale' section in my sidebar.  

- I really need to test THIS method out on my cutting mat.

- Have a peek at what THIS artist does!

- And THIS one too!!!

- THIS is one of my awww-worthy things.

Today's quote...

Baa, baa, black sheep!

 I collected my parcel and promptly forgot to take a picture of my haul before I started using some of it.  At any rate, the acquisition of some iron-on fleece led to me being able to finish these additions to the Christmas box...

- You HAVE to go and see what my friend Kim has made for her granddaughter... so very adorable!  Go HERE to see!

- I think I sent you to a link last year to make THESE, but I thought a refresher wouldn't hurt.

- Have a peek through the galleries of THIS artist!

-Really wish my knitting skills were up to attempting THIS.  Our wee grandie would love it!

Today's quote...

Treating myself

 It's been a week of eating out way more than we usually do (birthdays, back to back, will do that somehow).  Started with breakfast out on Monday, a steak supper on Tuesday, and a lunch on Wednesday.  Thankfully the celebrations outta be over until September when we celebrate our anniversary.  Feeling quite slothsome after all those meals led to me sitting in front of the computer and surfing where I shouldn't  have been.  Of course I felt the need to test out my shiny new credit card (a replacement after my old one was compromised).  This has arrived - and there's another order coming.

!!!!!!ARGH!!!!!!!!
Did you SEE the photo of what came in the mail?
Well, neither can I
because...
Canada Post couldn't be bothered to buzz
up to tell us there was a parcel waiting to
be delivered.
So now I have to make a special trip to the
depot to pick it up.
As I said....argh!

And, in order to show you that I've been doing something else with at least some of my time, how about an update on the sock yarn mitred squares afghan?   (and yes, I know I said I wanted to use up the part-balls I have, but what's a girl to do when some of the colours are lacking??...see above for the latest additions).  

I came across this while I was surfing the internet and being that it is tick season and they're evidently very bad this year, I thought I should share it....

- I may have sent you to explore all the free patterns found HERE before, but if I have it was a long time ago and I'm sure there are lots of new ones.

- Have a peek through the gallery by THIS artist!  And THIS one too!! Oh, and the paper pieces done by THIS artist!

Today's quote..."Our days are happier when we give people a bit of our heart rather than a piece of our mind"

Another project

 This is #1 of three (all different fabrics of course!) tote bags that I'm making for adding to the Christmas box...

The pattern is THIS one and came entirely from my stash.

Two more are cut out and awaiting  delivery of some fusible fleece before I can go any further.

- If you have bottle caps you don't know what to do with, perhaps THIS project would be fun.

- With the heat we're experiencing this summer, maybe making yourself (or those you love) one of THESE would come in really handy.

- THIS would be a fun way to use interesting selvages.

Today's quote is from Winston Churchill..."Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen"

 I finished a small project that is destined for the Christmas box....

This measures about 11 1/2" square and the pattern I used came from HERE.

As a little aside that falls under the 'small world' category, my friend and I were video-chatting and for some reason childhood toys came up.  She was talking about a Lassie dog pajama bag she had as a child and we began to wonder if we had both had the exact same one.  I scrounged around and found this picture of my bedgraggled, much-loved, Lassie and sent to her.  Amazingly, it turns out it's the same one as she had.  

Somehow I doubt hers was in  quite as bad a shape as this one!

- Have a peek through the creations of THIS artist - I love her use of colour!

- Although there's no real 'pattern' for THIS, it would be easy to create using any size of hexie.

- THIS would be handy for so many different things.

- There are some fun ideas HERE for making glass mushrooms for your decor.  I love the ones made with the glass marbles (scroll down).

Today's quote is from Normal Vincent Peale..."Dwelling on negative thoughts is like fertilizing weeds"

Out of the Twilight Zone

 The air quality here is pretty awful right now due to the wildfires that are burning all over Ontario.  I know it's hard to tell the surreal light that's outside from this picture, but hopefully you can (this was taken at noon on Wednesday)....

This is the view from our balcony towards the river that runs through the town.  That big tree to the right is just outside our bedroom window and you can see the pathway that runs along the river all the way to the downtown.  Our thoughts are with all the brave fire fighters who are battling in this extreme heat under very trying conditions.  

- HERE is a little project that would be a great way to gift something small to a quilter or sewer.

- Those of you who are interested in weaving might enjoy a scroll through the creations of THIS artist!

- And THIS artist does some interesting work (several galleries to peek through)

- Since it's watermelon season, perhaps you might like to try making THIS.

Today's quote is from Winston Churchill..."I'd rather argue against a hundred idiots, than have one agree with me"

 The latest on the tech front - I fixed the tv!  Don't ask me how I did it because it was more by luck than good management but the RC is happy so that's all that counts.  I even managed to get the screen brighter than it was which was an additional bonus I never expected.  Now I'm leaving the cell phone issues for another week or so in order to recover my equilibrium.

In the interim whilst I had no computer I finished the latest landscape...

FOR SALE!!

- If you happen to be searching for ideas for using up scrap fabrics, perhaps one of the ideas found HERE might interest you.

- THIS is a little different take on a pincushion design.

- Have a peek through the gallery of THIS artist!

- THIS artist too - check out all her galleries.

Today's quote is from Nelson Mandela..."Fools multiply when wise men are silent"

I'm back!!!

 I'm back in the land of tech and the proud new owner of a Lenovo All-In-One along with the learning curve that goes along with it.  I'm utterly amazed at what the tech guy could do - I no longer have umpteen-dozen cords running all over the place (everything is now wireless).  No longer do I need to have a router which makes the internet far faster (who knew?!).  No longer do I need a separate camera to use for video-chatting - it's built in.  No longer do I need a separate anti-virus program - it's built in.  No longer do I need a box full of CD's for various and assorted programs - everything comes with it, including a non-dinosaur word processing program (I was running Word 2007).  No longer do I need a shoebox full of manuals/CD's/how to's.  I have entered the current century!!

I will be publishing your recent comments but won't take time to respond to them and will start again from now (so I will respond to the comments on this post, but not the previous ones) and I have been managing to read your blog posts on my phone but haven't been able to respond.  Next 'up' on my dance card is going to be replacing my phone but I'll leave the dust to settle a bit before I undertake that new adventure.

Onwards....

UPDATE!  Well,that didn't last long.  Finally got the computer up and running (with the capable assistance of 'my guy') and then the provider for our cable tv/landline/internet went down  for several hours.  The upshot of THAT issue is that it's left the tv not working and it's telling me I have to go in and reset everything back to the beginning which I have NO clue how to do.  

Toast

 I will be off the computer for a while....my computer fried after several power disruptions yesterday.  It appears the router is toast too.  Not only that but my tablet and my cell phone aren't working either...both are refusing to turn on.  They say things happen in 3's and seems it's my lot right now.  Call is in to a computer repair guru but of course he's on holidays.  I will return when I can 

Some progress

 There's been some progress on the landscape.  You might notice that the bottom edge has changed because I decided to add some 'sand' and that there's been a tent and what I thought was a canoe but now I'm thinking it's more like  a rowboat.  Not sure if it will be staying because I really had been planning on a canoe.      The Resident Chef informs me that the 'canoe' is actually a dory and therefore would not be transportable into this sort of setting.  So...the dory is gone and it's been replaced with something much more the shape of a canoe.  Phew, disaster averted!

Question - is anyone else having difficulties either making comments, or responding to them, on blogs?  I periodically have issues it seems and am wondering if it's just me or if it's a universal issue.

- THESE would make cute therapy chickens!

- THIS looks like it would be a fun process albeit a bit messy!  (scroll down for the how-to)

- I found THIS article quite interesting and something we all should beware of when buying patterns.

- Have a peek at the varied creations of THIS artist!  I love her use of colour and raw materials.

Today's quote is from Martin Luther King Jr....."We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers"